Articles

Feeding Nine Billion: Five Steps to the Wrong SolutionNational Geographic's recent online slideshow featuring an article by global ecologist Jonathan Foley lays out a Five Step Plan to Feed the World that proposes to "blend the best" farming techniques of organic and local farms with those of high-tech and conventional farms. It is a collaborative proposition framed within an attractive media presentation that relies on much of the conventional wisdom expressed in food and agriculture policy circles today. It is also wrong.[04/25/14]We Grow Enough Food to Feed 10 Billion People… and Still Can’t End World HungerA study from McGill University and the University of Minnesota published in the journal Nature compared organic and conventional yields from 66 studies and over 300 trials. Researchers found that on average, conventional systems out-yielded organic farms by 25%—mostly for grains, and depending on conditions.[05/02/12]Food poverty: government in denialThe government of any developed country has a fundamental duty to ensure every citizen can afford to feed themselves [20-2-14]The Leftovers We TossWasted groceries are a big, expensive problem. Here are the items Americans are most likely to throw away.Other Food Bank articles: Gaurdian 2013

Ideas/Solutions

Learn How This Family Grows 6,000 Lbs Of Food on Just 1/10th AcreThe Dervaes family live on 1/10th of an acre 15 minutes from downtown L.A.. In itself that’s not strange. What’s crazy is that they manage to maintain a sustainable and independent urban farm. Complete with animals! In a year they produce around 4,300 pounds of veggies, 900 chicken , 1000 duck eggs, 25 lbs honey, and pounds of seasonal fruit. There are over 400 species of plants. What?! They have everything they need to ‘live off the land.’ From beets to bees. Chickens to chickpeas.Everything You Know About Addiction Is WrongWhat really causes addiction — to everything from cocaine to smart-phones? And how can we overcome it? Johann Hari has seen our current methods fail firsthand, as he has watched loved ones struggle to manage their addictions. He started to wonder why we treat addicts the way we do — and if there might be a better way. As he shares in this deeply personal talk, his questions took him around the world, and unearthed some surprising and hopeful ways of thinking about an age-old problem.